None – Life Has Gone on Long Enough (Review)

None are a black metal band from the US and this is their second album.

We met None on last year’s self-titled debut album, and it comes as some surprise to see there’s a new one here already, (scheduled for release on the same day as the first, no less).

The style of Life Has Gone on Long Enough is a cross between the atmospheric and depressive strains of black metal. There’s also a doom influence at play in the music too. It’s well-played and presented, and succeeds in painting bleak, forlorn landscapes of atmospheric, depressive music.

The songs are cold and unfriendly, and drip with melancholic sadness. There is aggression here, of course, but most of the time it’s laced with nuance and subtleties of delivery. Relatively subdued synths add an extra layer of depth to the music, which is already full of substance and emotive weight.

For such a bleak collection of tracks there’s a surprising amount of light and shade on this album. Although I suppose it’s less light and shade, and more varying degrees of grim and black. Either way, it helps make for a textured release that seems to effortlessly take the listener away into harsh, unforgiving lands.

The songs are well-written and impose their powerfully emotive presence on the airwaves with ease. There are some genuinely hauntingly beautiful moments on this release, and the songs are immersive and compelling with their dark atmospheric grandeur.

Although None’s debut album was a very enjoyable release, I have to say that this new one is even better. The quality levels in pretty much all departments have increased, from the songwriting, to the production, to the performances. Life Has Gone on Long Enough is a first-rate release from an underground, mysterious entity that definitely deserves more exposure.

A highly recommended listen for any fan of expressive, atmospheric extreme metal.